Genocide suspect freed in Dar es Salaam by ICTR

Genocide suspect, Major Bernard Ntuyahaga, was today released by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), after charges against him were dropped. According to an ICTR press release, he was freed in Dar es Salaam. He had filed for a stay of execution, allowing him to remain at the Tribunal’s detention facilities while he prepared an appeal against the decision not to acquit him, but the court ruled that the request was inadmissable. As far as the ICTR is concerned, Ntuyahaga’s case is now closed, but Belgium and Rwanda have both called for his extradition. Ntuyahaga is accused of the murder of former Rwandan premier Agathe Uwilingiyimana and 10 Belgian peacekeepers. A source close to defence lawyers in Arusha told IRIN that the “highly discretionary” manner of appointing defence lawyers at the ICTR would be a “fundamental” part of appeals being filed by former mayor Jean-Paul Akayesu and former premier Jean Kambanda at The Hague. Ntuyahaga was among those defendents not represented by the lawyer of his choice, the source said. Describing Ntuyahaga’s case as a “hot potato”, the defence source said that his lawyer might be “beholden” to the tribunal and as the case was “squeezed between jurisdictions”, political factors seemed to be coming into play.